Nina Returns
by Thunderxtw
Summary: Through her life,Nina has been known as the coldblooded assassin. While on a mission to stop ruthless hit men from coming after her, Nina makes friends with the unlikeliest of people and has a shocking encounter with her forgotten son. FINAL CHAPTER!
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Notes:_Hey everybody, I'm back with my latest fanfic. If you don't remember, I'm the author who made the Nina fanfic "The Assassin Strikes." I recommend you go check it out, if you haven't. This story will star Nina of course. Some other Tekken characters will make appearances, so be on the look out. I have listened to a few of the requests some of you have submitted to me, so there should be something in here just for you. If not, you could always make a suggestion. Anyways, enjoy!_**

**

* * *

**

_Prologue _

For many months, Nina has been a hunted assassin. Day by day, she was, stalked, chased and constantly shot at by relentless hit men.

She had no clue as to why these ruthless assassins were after her or who sent them after her in the first place. One thing she did know was she wasn't going to be their victim.

Strangely enough, they had been chasing her ever since the syndicate she once worked for had fallen, thanks to a certain police detective. No matter how persistent these hit men were, they were no match for the blonde assassin that was Nina Williams.

Any hit man that dared to take Williams on would end up dead lying in a gutter somewhere.

_**

* * *

A few days later**_

Nina happened to be sitting at a local diner having one of her favorite meals when a familiar face suddenly walked in. He calmly sat down right next to her and ordered up a quick breakfast to start the day.

He brushed his long golden blonde hair back away from his face as he waited patiently for his meal to arrive. Nina glanced over at his face and slightly jumped back a little in her chair from surprise in a startled manner.

The man sitting next to her was Steve Fox, the very man the syndicate had sent her to kill a while ago. After the syndicate had fallen, Nina no longer had a purpose to kill Steve.

The main thing bothering Nina was back when she once worked for the syndicate, they had informed her that Steve Fox was her own son. When she heard the news, she felt nothing from it and acted like it was no big deal.

Steve being in the diner caught her completely off guard, as she was expecting not to ever see him again. After seeing her son for the second time, Nina turns the other way around in her chair and goes back to eating her meal uncaringly.

Steve slowly turns his head towards Nina as her constant loud chomping was getting on his nerves. He had kindly asked her to stop but she refused and continued.

"Excuse me, do you think you could chew a little softer?" he politely asked.

"Humph!" snorted Nina.

Steve took one look at her face and began to feel like he had seen her somewhere before. Looking back at her hair, eyes, he knew he surely recognized her from somewhere.

"Excuse me, but have we met?" he said asking Nina.

Nina let out a quiet cold "no" and went back to her eating. Every time Steve asked her, she attempted to dodge the questions by giving him smart mouthed rude replies. After awhile, Steve saw his questions going nowhere and immediately decided to stop.

Soon, Nina finished her meal and wiped the tiny crumbs of food from her face. After paying up, she was on her way outside.

Unexpectedly, a few round of bullets began pouring through the window directly at her. The glass from the window quickly shattered and fell to the floor scattering everywhere.

Luckily, the bullets missed their designated target and ended up hitting a nearby wall. Everyone in the diner started screaming in panic, running outside to avoid being shot.

The only people left in the diner were Steve and Nina. Nina had pulled a gun out from her coat pocket and aimed it up high to shoot the assassin firing from outside. But curtains that stood in the way of her fire obstructed her view.

The Assassin outside fired off another round of bullets, but they weren't coming towards Nina. Instead she saw one of the bullets heading towards Steve's chest.

Her eyes darted over towards her son as she rolled up from the floor and jumped in the bullets path to prevent it from hitting Steve. Within the next second, the bullet went straight into Nina's leg as she crashed back onto the floor.

Steve Fox couldn't believe what had just happened, a woman had just saved his life. Before another shot could be fired from outside, Nina grabbed her gun from the floor and shot the assassin dead.

Realizing she had killed him, Nina threw her gun to the floor and passed out. The last thing she heard was a loud screaming siren of an incoming ambulance.


	2. In the Hospital

**_Whoa! I didnt expect to get this many reviews so quickly! I just sent the first chapter and i already have overfive reviews. Anyways, thanks and keep them coming. I try to update as often asI can._**

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

Nina had blanked out for several hours after the vicious gunfight. When she finally awoke, she saw herself laid up in a hospital bedroom with slim cords attached to her body. 

Looking over towards her left, she saw somebody sitting in a small chair with a bag of roses in hand. The person sitting in the chair was Steve Fox, the man who's life she had saved back at the diner.

He sat in his chair rocking back and forth looking back at Nina in a worried state. The blonde assassin attempted to speak but hardly any words escaped from her soft lips.

She desperately wanted to scold him but saw no purpose in doing so. She lied back in her bed staring back at him, wondering what he was doing in her hospital room.

A moment later, Steve stood up from his chair and comes over to Nina's bedside, keeping both eyes locked on her. Within an instant, he took hold of Nina's arm and massaged it gently with his fingers.

"How are you feeling?" he says in a soft whisper.

No words came from Nina's mouth. Not even a harsh insult was said.

"I came here to thank you for saving my life. I really appreciate what you did back there. It may not mean anything to you but it means a lot to me. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now."

At that time, Nina began to feel slightly different. Normally, she did not care what anybody had to say about her, whether it was good or bad. But somehow, Steve's words seemed to be touching her in way she had never felt before. It was quite a heart-warming feeling.

"Here, I brought you these."

Steve places the roses he held tightly in his arms on Nina's lap. The smell of the flowers was quite pleasant like they had just been cut from a fresh garden.

Nina took a moment to breath in the fresh aroma the roses were giving off. Never had she smelled something so beautiful before.

No one had ever given her roses in her life and this was a first for her. After smelling the sweet smell of the beautiful flowers, Nina began to think differently about the blonde haired boxer.

He didn't seem as bad as she had thought and gave the impression that he really cared a lot about her, something no one really showed her. A couple minutes later Steve figured it was best to leave now for he thought Nina really needed to rest.

But Nina did not want him to go. In a way, she kind of enjoyed his company and wanted him to stay longer. But she showed no signs of wanting him to stay in the room with her.

She was completely silent as she watched him walk out the door. She didnt want him to know she wanted him to stay.

Before he left, he promised Nina he would come back to see her again, something she looked forward to very much. An hour later, a Caucasian doctor with a baldhead and gray whiskers came pacing into the room with a clipboard in hand.

He told Nina about her condition. Due to the state her leg was in, Nina would have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks.

She didn't like the sound of it too well for the fact she wanted to get out of the hospital as fast as possible, but both her and the doctor knew that wasn't possible. Strangely, Nina was more understanding than normal.

Usually, she would have gotten smart with the doctor and demanded he fix her leg immediately. But instead she accepted this for what it was. There was no way her leg was going to heal faster by being hostile.

_**Two days later.**_

The sun gleamed brightly through the window with its intense rays, waking up a sleeping Nina Williams from her bed. Steve was in the room once again sitting in the chair by her bedside with his hand over his face, hoping the best for her.

The blonde assassin displayed a slight grin after witnessing Steve's presence. She was quite pleased to see him.

"I told you I'd come back," Steve noted as he placed his hand back on Nina's arm. In the bed Nina still remained silent, not uttering a single word. She was totally quiet the whole time he spoke.

"I wanted to do something for you in return for saving my life," Steve told.

Nina had no clue what he had in mind, but she was open to anything.

"I wanted to take you out to dinner, that is when your leg is healed, if that's ok with you."

Nina didn't expect Steve to say such a thing, but he did. She took a minute to think about it.

Laying in bed looking deep in thought, her eyes circled the room aimlessly. Finally, she turned her head slowly towards him and nodded "yes."

A wide grin quickly grew on Steve's face from her answer. Now that everything was set, Steve could hardly wait for the time to come, the time him and Nina would go out.

_**A few weeks later**_

Nina was cleared to leave the hospital. With her leg fully healed, it felt great to be able to walk again.

Steve Fox came inside moments later, getting the chance to see Nina stand on two legs. Without saying a word, he took Nina by the arm and brought her outside to his car.


	3. The Annoying Neighbor

_**Excellent! I love seeing these reviews. Thanks all. Here's the next chapter.**_

* * *

Steve was completely unaware of the woman who had saved his life was his own mother. As he drove down the road in his car, he told Nina stories about his life that she found rather interesting.

The sad part of his story was his mentioning of his foster parents. He told Nina they were great people and he loved them very much but he wanted to know who his real parents were since he grew up not knowing who they actually are.

Ironically, his own mother was sitting in the passenger seat right next to him, but he did not know and Nina wanted to keep it that way. As sad as his story sounded to her, Nina did not want to go as far as to inform him that she was his real biological mother.

She didn't want Steve knowing his own mother was a cold-blooded, ruthless assassin that lived a very dangerous life. The life she lived she did not want the young boxer to be apart of in anyway.

After she would go out to dinner with him, she planned to disappear and never see him again. It was hard for her but it was too much of a risk.

With Steve being around her, another incident similar to what happened at the diner could be emanate and there might be a chance Steve wouldn't survive the outcome.

Soon, Steve dropped Nina off at her apartment, an apartment she had been living since she became an assassin. He promised Nina he would take her to dinner tomorrow.

Once he drove off, Nina went up to her room and crashed on the raggedy sofa that lied there in the middle of the area. The place was a complete mess with everything from clothes to food thrown everywhere. Nina hardly took anytime to pick up after herself and didn't seem very concerned about the look of her apartment.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock heard at the door. Nina grunted and paced over to the constant knocking. Before her stood a short Asian teenage girl with black hair in pigtails with a great big smile on her face. She happened to be holding a brown box with something inside.

"Hi Nina! Would you like to try some of the cookies I baked?" the girl said in a bright and cheery tone of voice.

Nina sighed heavily while placing her hand on her forehead, displaying an annoyed expression.

"Look Ling, I told you I don't like cookies!" She growled finally speaking for the first time since the gunfight. "They make me sick!"

The young teenager was Ling Xiaoyu, Nina's joyful neighbor. She lived a couple floors down below Nina's room. Every week she would bake cookies and beg Nina to try one. But Nina had a huge disgust for cookies; they made her stomach twist and turn at night. It was basically the same thing every week and Nina was about tired of it.

"Aww come on! Just one Nina, please?" Ling said giving Nina the sad puppy dog eyes.

Immediately, Nina took hold of the door and slammed it right in Ling's face in an awfully mean manner. On the other side, she could hear Xiaoyu crying through the door feeling terribly insulted.

The more she heard Xiaoyu cry the more she did not care. Nina had no feelings for Ling what so ever. Through her mind, she just saw her as an aggravating child and nothing more.

Upon slamming the door on the Chinese schoolgirl, Nina went to the refrigerator for a snack, but wound up finding nothing but a bag of chips and a small loaf of bread with a container full of mustard on the side. Sure it wasn't a reasonable selection, but it was all she had. Before she dug in, she heard another knock at the door.

"Great, Ling must want me to try something else of hers," Nina said sarcastically.

As soon as Nina opened the door, she received a great big sucker punch to the face that sent her flying across the room. Scurrying to get up from the floor, she saw a rather large burly man wearing an all black uniform coming in from the outside.

The moment she saw his face she could tell he was one of the hit men that had been chasing her. Surely, she knew he must have followed her to her room and was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He took hold of Nina's throat with his hand and raised her up against the wall, severally attempting to choke her with his immense grip. Nina quickly swung her foot towards his head and kicked him square in the face multiple times trying to break free from his powerful grasp.

But the kicks hardly even fazed him at the very least. Kicking him was like kicking an incredibly huge mountain. All it seemed to do was make him angrier and increase his grip on her. As the two fought in the middle of the room, a constant knocking sound was heard at the door. Since Nina was tied up at the moment, there was no way she could answer it.

"Nina are you in there?" said the voice on the other side of the door. "Hello? I hear something going on in there! Are you hiding from me?"

The voice belonged to none other than Xiaoyu.

With no answer, she suddenly realized the door was unlocked and twisted the knob to come inside. From there she saw Nina wrestling with a rather large assassin.

"Oh my goodness!" gasped Xiaoyu as she watched the hit man attempt to squeeze the life out of Nina against the wall.

Nina searched around trying to find something to hit the assassin with to break his hold on her. She spotted an old glassjuice bottle that happened to be lying right underneath her feet.

Unfortunately, she was too high up in the air to reach it with her hand due to the fact she was being held up against the wall. Thinking drastically, she took her elbow and smashed it straight into the large assassin's mouth.

The impact sent his head bobbing back a little giving her a brief moment to grab the bottle and use it. Within an instant, she swiped up the bottle from the floor and cracked it over the guys head.

Little pieces of glass flew across the room, nearly hitting Xiaoyu. The hit man held the side of his head with one hand, trying to resist the pain he felt.

The bottle ended up leaving a huge ugly gash upon his forehead. Blinded by rage, he charged at Nina full speed. Immediately sidestepping out of the way, Nina delivers a swift roundhouse kick to the back of the assassin's head. Right away, he stumbles over to the balcony and falls to his death.

After realizing the battle was over, Nina collapsed to the floor from exhaustion. Seems the bulky assassin's immense grip weakened her badly along with the damaging punches she took to the face.

Xiaoyu took hold of Nina's arm and threw it around her shoulder deciding to help, despite how rude Nina was to her earlier. The little Chinese schoolgirl then took Nina to her room in hopes of healing her wounds.


	4. A little help from a friend?

_**Sorry I didnt submit sooner. It appears the site was having problems with servers. Anyway, heres the next chapter.**_

* * *

After the intense battle that had taken place between Nina and the lone hit man, her young Chinese neighbor hauls her outside into the chilly damp hallway. The humid temperature from the cool air conditioner, which blew from the ventilation shafts, breezed up her short denim dress as she struggled to get the young assassin out the door. Nina staggered achingly across the hallway as Ling strived to keep her on her feet as best as she could, while going down to the 3rd floor of the apartment complex. 

Frequent moaning was heard from the bruised assassin's faint lips as she struggled heavily to walk on both legs. There was hardly ever a time she could remember where she had been beaten up so badly since normally it was her foe walking away with the injured limbs.

With Ling eyeing her caringly, she could tell just by looking at the young assassin how banged up she was. Nina's arms continuously drooped to the floor with no strength to keep them elevated.

In the thighs of her legs she felt nothing but numbness, making it much harder for her to walk. Through the hall and down the steps, Nina limped the rest of the way.

When they finally reached Xiaoyu's room, the young Chinese schoolgirl brought Nina over to the couch to lie down, while she fetched the needed materials to fix her up. Ling then went over to the bathroom to look for a first aid kit. She wasn't a doctor of course, but she did know a thing or two about treating wounds.

Peering into the wooden cabinet, she discovered what looked to be a bunch of bandages placed neatly in a small white box. Luckily, they appeared to be just the right size for Nina's wounds.

In the kitchen Xiaoyu went to take a few ice cubes from the tray in the freezer and place them in a plastic bag. Back over on the large fluffy couch in the living room, Nina laid as if she was dying, staring up at the ceiling with her eyeballs nearly closed and large portions of sweat running down her slim frame. The suffering pain she felt from the battle increased as she tried to straighten her legs up on the sofa

Soon, Xiaoyu came back with a glass of water, a bag of ice, and some bandages taken from the bathroom in hand. It seemed she knew exactly what was needed.

Nina took hold of the bag of ice with her right hand and placed it gently on her throbbing forehead as she gulped down the cool refreshing liquid Xiaoyu had given her. After drinking the water, her throat felt completely replenished, enabling her to speak clearly.

Xiaoyu then placed the bandages on all her cuts and cleaned off some of the bruises with a wet washcloth. Watching her awkwardly, the Irish assassin could not understand as to why the young Chinese student was being so kind to her. It didn't seem to make much sense at all.

Why was Xiaoyu helping a mean, disrespectful woman who never seemed to like anybody?

Before Nina could ask the question herself, there was a thunderous loudknock heard at Xiaoyu's door. The noise caused a bit of a problem that forced her to take her attention off of Nina for a minor second.

Through the small peephole, Ling saw a tall, dark, cleanly shaven man wearing a black outfit similar to the one the assassin that came after Nina was wearing. Quickly startled by his appearance, she backed away from the door and dragged Nina out of the room in an attempt to hide her from the hit man that stood outside her door.

Losing his patience, the man violently kicked the door off its hinges and sent it flying across the room on to the nicely vacuumed carpet. He emerged from the outside inviting himself in, scanning the room thoroughly for any signs of life.

The place was strangely quiet without any signs of activity going on, and he knew he had heard something before he even came inside. The first area he decided to inspect was the kitchen, which seemed to be a really tidy area. He knocked over the tables and searched the cupboards wildly throwing out everything he saw in sight.

Not finding anything, he goes over into Xiaoyu's room after leaving her kitchen a complete mess. Examining the room while tearing everything apart, he doesn't manage to find anything.

There was nothing left but one more room…….the parents room. He viscously kicked the door down and searched under the beds of Xiaoyu's mother and father before flipping them over on their sides.

His eyesdarted towards the closet, which seemed to be the only remaining place left to hide now. Ripping the closet apart with his bare hands, he started plowing through all the clothes trying to see if anyone one was hiding inside, but to no avail.

Now he was completely stumped. There was nowhere left in the room to hide so where could the two have possibly gone? Deciding to check outside, he leaves the area and heads down the fire escape into the ally. Suddenly, Ling and Nina emerge from a secret door that happened to be hidden underneath a rug in the middle of the living room.

"Phew! That was a close one. I thought he'd find us for sure! Ling said wiping the sweat off her sweaty forehead.

Nina agreed with a slight grin. She had Xiaoyu to thank for her being alive right now. Who would have thought that a Chinese student would end up saving the life of a hunted assassin?

It was quite a funny thought, but Nina wasn't laughing. The whole thing didn't seem very hysterical to her. Instead she stared down at Xiaoyu in wonder, wondering why a young girl had gone so far to help her and even save her life. She knew if it weren't for this little girl, that assassin probably would have found and killed her right on the spot. That was apparent to her. Looking at Xiaoyu, she couldn't help but ask the question that had been plaguing her mind since she was dragged from her room.

"I don't understand. Why did you help me? Especially after the way I treated you."

The young teenager smiled innocently and wrapped her arms tightly around Nina's waist, hugging her.

"You might act like a mean person on the outside, but I think you're actually a really sweet person on the inside. I believe you just have a hard time showing affection, that's all," replied Xiaoyu, in an understanding tone of voice.

Nina wanted to shove Xiaoyu away and scold her, but couldn't go through with it. Ling's kind words were more than enough to justify the reason. It brought a warm feeling to the believed to be cold, icy heart of the Irish assassin. But despite how nice it sounded, Nina did not believe it. She thought after everything she's done in her life how could she possibly be considered nice? There was no clue as to why Xiaoyu thought that about her, except maybe it just being her own logic. Whatever the reason, Nina didn't worry about it for very long.

With the assassin's knowing the location of her home, Nina thought it would be best to leave the apartment and move somewhere else for the time being. Xiaoyu, not wanting her to go, pleaded the young assassin to stay. But begging was not going to make Nina change her mind one bit. Staying in the apartment could jeopardize both her life and Xiaoyu's. This was so unusual and quite an unexpected surprise as Nina was actually caring about another human other than herself.

"Please Nina, don't go! I wont let you!" Xiaoyu cried trying to force her into staying.

It was sad seeing the little teenager cry, but Nina had to move on despite how she felt. The area wasn't safe and her life would be in even more danger if she were to hang around any longer. To stop Xiaoyu from crying, Nina told her she wasn't moving after all and that she was going to stay. This was great news to Xiaoyu as she wiped the sobbing tears from her moist eyes feeling much better.

But she did not know that Nina was actually lying to her in order to stop her constant whining. She was really going to stay for one day and leave afterwards. After all, she had a date with Steve tomorrow and she did not want to just walk out on him without at least seeing his face one last time.

With the hit men gone for now, Nina headed back up to her room to relax and prepare for the next day. Looking through her closet, she searched for the most appropriate attire she could find to wear to dinner tomorrow. There really wasn't much of a large selection for her to choose from. At the end of the closet, she found a one-piece outfit that she hadn't worn in such a long time. Brushing some of the dust off of it, she threw in on and checked herself in the mirror.

"Not bad," she thought.

Later, she went to bed and goes straight to sleep, looking forward to having dinner with her son.


	5. Dinner with Steve Fox

_**Thanks for the reviews. I love seeing these as they inspire me to write evenmore. Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**_

* * *

The bright sizzling sun rose into the clear blue sky, shining vibrantly through Nina's bedroom window. The penetratingly bright rays began to slowly awaken the young Irish assassin from her messy bedside full of junk, as they flashed intensely upon her closed eyes. 

Yawing softly, Nina takes one foot from underneath the thick blankets and places it firmly on the floor as the other foot follows suit. Placing her palms gently on her pale skinned face, she begins wiping the sleep from her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

Wearing nothing but a long white t-shirt and black shorts that went down to her kneecaps, she undresses herself and heads into the bathroom for a quick shower to freshen up. Turning the small knobs on the wall, a mixture of hot and cold water slowly runs down her still aching back.

Nothing but the calmingly soothing sounds of water could be heard splashing onto her soft skin, as she lathered the scented soap across her body. She stood in the shower for minutes until her body was entirely clean and deprived of all dirt.

Once she was done cleaning herself, she grabbed a long white towel from the closet and dried all the wetness off her damp figure. Looking at her long golden hair, in the somewhat foggy mirror, she decides to straighten in out with a comb, so that it lies down on her back nice and straight.

After combing it to perfection, she gracefully ties her hair into a ponytail and lets it hang down to her upper back. She then slips into her one-piece outfit from the closet.

She checked herself in the mirror a number of times to see if she could spot any noticeable flaws. Not one error was found. Now, she was finally ready to go.

Before she could step out, someone began pounding on the door.

"_Who could that be?"_ Nina grumbles, while pacing over to the doorway.

Turning the knob slowly and opening it, she sees her happy go lucky neighbor, Ling Xiaoyu, rowing back and forth on her feet. The young assassin ponders as to why she had chosen this particular time to disturb her, as she was trying to get ready for a date.

Xiaoyu's eyes widen with anticipation as she looks up and down at the classy dressed Nina Williams. She had never seen Nina dressed up before and was curious as to what made her do such a thing. The outfit was just too much for her not to say anything about it.

"_Ohhh…Nina, you look so pretty today. I mean, that outfit is just plain gorgeous!"_ she says examining the outfit methodically._ What are you dressed up for anyway?"_

Nina blushed a little from Xiaoyu's kind complimenting comments. It was nice to know someone actually appreciated what she had on since not many people, except perverted males, seemed to notice. In reply to the young Chinese girl's comments, she utters two unexpected words that she thought would never ever come out of her mouth.

"_Thank you."_

Ling had taken a step back to readjust her ears to make sure what she heard Nina say was right. Never had she heard her say those two words before, if ever. It was indeed a first timer. Normally, Nina was very secretive about her business, but she really didn't see much of a reason to hide it from her young neighbor.

"_I'm going out with somebody, today_." She said informingly

Ling thought that was the cutest thing she had ever heard. Often, she wondered why Nina didn't socialize with any men. But that seemed to be changing now.

It didn't make much sense, since Nina had everything a guy could go for….. except maybe a bad attitude and a dangerous lifestyle. Xiaoyu could be nothing more but proud, proud that Nina was actually being more of a human being instead of an empty shell of a person.

"_Wow, lucky you. I have yet to find a boyfriend and I'm nineteen_," she giggled bashfully.

After their little chat, Xiaoyu wished Nina the best of luck on her date and skipped merrily back to her room. The elegantly dressed assassin then proceeded downstairs into the lobby, patiently waiting for the arrival of her son.

Steve showed up, minutes later, in his car at the exact time he had said he would come. Nina stepped into the vehicle and was taken to a fancy restaurant she had never been to before.

Inside, there were dozens of tables filled with customers. It looked as if Steve and Nina wouldn't have anywhere to sit. Luckily, Nina managed to point out a table to the far left of the room, perfect for two people.

The waitress kindly guided them to their seats and gave them each a menu of the wide selection of foods to choose from. Steve ordered a large steak dinner as Nina ordered the fish dinner right after.

As the waitress went into the kitchen to place the orders, Steve was happy that him and Nina were finally alone. He again placed his arm on Nina's hand across the table to quickly grab her attention.

The Irish assassin did nothing but smile a bit and droop her head down to his large bulky forearm. She was amazed at how big his muscles expanded since the last King of Iron Fist Tournament.

She took a moment to rub the roughness of his strong, well-developed arms he had stretched out across the table. His meaty skin felt much harder than she imagined.

"_This is kind of strange. I've known you all this time and yet I still don't know your name,"_ said Steve running his fingers down his soft chin.

"_Nina,"_ replied the blonde woman.

" _Nice to meet you Nina. My name is Ste…………"_

"_I already know your name,"_ she interrupted.

"_Oh,"_ said a shamefaced Steve

The two spent a good few minutes talking to each other. Nina listened as Steve told her about the hilarious and not so hilarious moments in his childhood.

He shared personal information he hardly ever shared with anybody in his life. He spoke to Nina as if he had known her for several long years, and she was quite surprised by it. When it was Nina's turn to speak, she didn't really have much to say.

"_Well I've rambled on enough. What's your life like?"_ Steve said giving her the chance to talk.

Nina stuttered nervously as she saw Steve lowering his drink to listen to her. With both of his eyes focused directly on her, it made her feel very uncomfortable.

"_I…. really… don't like to talk about my life," _she stated avoiding the question.

"_Well, what about your family? Can you talk about your family?" _Steve asked.

Nina shook her head rapidly, implying no.

"_I really… don't have a family to talk about,"_ she replied in a depressed tone.

The golden haired boxer was in shock. He could tell by the sad expression displayed upon her face that she was easily troubled by something. It seemed she had a problem sharing secrets about her life.

_"What's wrong? Were you adopted, like me? You shouldn't feel bad about that if that's what you mean. I don't let it get to me that much, but I do kind of wish I knew who my real family was… especially my mother."_

Nina's head slowly rises up from the table as she decides to ask a question that had been running through her mind for a short while.

"_Do you ever wonder what your real mother is like?"_

Steve pondered for a slight moment, while scratching his greasy forehead with the tip of his chipped finger nail.

_"I really can't say much, but some times I like to imagine what she's like. I see her as a hard workingwoman with a caring heart and a strong sense of respect for others. There are times when she may come off as a bit rude, but that is only because of the huge amount of stress she undergoes in her rough lifestyle… at least that's the kind of person I envision her being. In a way, it's like I can tell what she could be like even though I don't really know her. Call it a hunch, if you will."_

The young assassin pretended to clear her throat trying not to show any reaction to what Steve had just said. Emotionally, it touched her heart in a way she thought wasn't possible.

Seeing Steve saddened by not knowing the identity of his real biological mother made Nina feel like a complete jerk. She figured it was now time to reveal to Steve what he hadn't known all along, something that he'd really be interested to finally know once and for all.

How it would effect him was not known, but now she felt was the time to tell him and reveal the truth. It would take an awful lot of explaining and of course she didn't seem to mind. Just as long as she didn't have to see Steve suffer the pain of not knowing his real mother any longer was all she wanted.

"_Steve…I have something to tell you,"_ she said stiffly.

Steve scooted closer to the table to listen.

"_Yes, Nina?"_

"I'm…………I'm…I'm your…your…your…ma…ma… 

Suddenly, a whizzing bullet comes flying into the room, passing Nina's head, and going straight into asmall child's arm that sends the entire restaurant into a huge frantic panic. From out of nowhere, a couple of men armed with guns knock over everything and began firing at the alarmed assassin.

She quickly kicked over the table and sat behind it for cover. Immediately, she pulls a small pistol she had tied around her left ankle and began shooting backat the two armed gunmen. Steve sat beside, wondering what was going on.

"_What the hell is it with you with guys with guns!" _he shouted.

Nina ignored him and continued firing off her rounds individually. Large crowds of people ran out of the place screaming for their lives.

All that was left were a few people too terrified to leave the area in fear of getting shot in the cross fire. Police sirens began shouting from outside with officers swarming the building with guns in hand.

The two armed hit man quickly shot one last round before jumping through the window to escape from being caught by the cops. One of the bullets came whistling towards Steve as he stood up from the ground thinking it was safe to come out, but unfortunately it was not.

The bullet hit him straight in the abdomen, bringing him down to the floor on his knees. He fell face first to the floor with Nina rushing over worridly to his aid. Shaking the young boxer constantly, attempting to revive him, the Irish assassin began to shed saddened tears from her eyes for the very first time.

At that moment, the police mercilessly tackled Nina to the ground, knocking her off balance, from behind and slapped handcuffs right around her wrists. She was then hauled intoa police car as she saw Steve being placed into a nearby ambulance.

Jumping and kicking violently, she attempts to break free, but more officers come and aggressively smack her over the head with knife sticks to knock her out cold.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, I'm back. SorryI didnt update, been busy. I see that alot are touched by my fic. Well, i really didnt expect it to go that far, but I'm glad it did. Any way, i hope you all enjoy the next chapter.**

_**

* * *

Deep within the bowels of a Security prison **_

Little vermin and pests, ranging from rats to insects, scurried across the ground from out the cracks in the cold, hard, damp walls. The putrid smell of manly body odor lingered through the air as well as the foul smell of poorly unclogged toilets in the clammy prison cells. Hollow footsteps echoed across the halls as more inmates were brought in from outside. Two armed security guards had shackled and restrained the Irish assassin in a pair of extremely, uncomfortable handcuffs that nearly cut off the blood circulation to her wrists. Cruelly, they shoved her inside one of the prison cells and immediately locked the door.

Now the blonde one was behind bars, for being apart of the shoot out that took place back at the restaurant. Observing the surroundings, nothing was seen to be available but a slanted bed and an old, broken-down toilet. Curling up against the chilly damp walls, Nina felt alone without anyone to comfort her. Already she missed the bright smile of her son, the joyful laughter of Xiaoyu, and the good times she started to realize she had. It seemed those days were now over.

No more annoying visits from the perky next-door neighbor and no more spending time with the loving son. This was how it was meant to be. But this was no longer how she wanted it. Being away from friends, and being away from family wasn't viable. There had to be a way to escape, there had to be a way to break out of the confines of this horrible place she was in, and the Irish native was going to find it.

_**Breakfast time**_

All the malicious inmates lined up single file in the cafeteria, dreadfully accepting whatever was available on the not so tasty sounding menu. The cooking was atrocious and the meals tasted more like thick rubber than they did food. Sadly, it was all the detainees were given. They couldn't have anything else.

Down in the far corner of the room, away from the long line of inmates, Nina sat alone at an empty table, thinking only about Steve. It seemed she'd do anything to see his wonderfully, clean-shaven face again. As she daydreamed about the golden haired boxer, a couple of convicts leaving the breakfast line quickly dropped their trays beside her and sat down.

"Well, Hwoarang, look at what we got here! It's a woman, and not only that…she's actually a pretty woman," said a tall, blonde haired Caucasian man.

"Whoa! You're right, Paul, she's hot! It's been awhile since we seen a woman around here, especially a hot one," agreed an orange haired Korean man.

Seeing a beautiful lady wasn't very common to them since they had spent three long painful years behind bars without any females around. As time dragged on, during their sentence, they started to forget what a woman looked like. They stared at the lovely assassin from head to toe, perceiving every last detail shown on her magnificent body.

The blonde European's penetrating, cold blue eyes glared back at them menacingly, signifying she did not want them near her. But the two really didn't notice or pay attention to her petrifying gaze. Instead, they seemed more interested in learning her identity

_"Hey sweetie, what's your name?"_ asked the Korean man, nudging close to the disgruntled assassin.

_"What's your name?"_ Nina quickly snapped.

"_The name's Hwoarang, and my friend over there is Paul Phoenix."_

The two extended their arms wanting to shake hands, but the Irish woman snorted rudely at both of them and went back to eating the horribly cooked food that sat on the table in front of her.

_"I'm Nina,"_ she replied sternly.

_"Ok, so, Nina, what are you in for?"_

_"Shooting people, you?"_

Hwoarang paused for a slight moment looking back at Paul nervously with his eyes bulged. He found it quite shocking to hear the young woman's reply as he thought it would have been something a little less violent. But he surely did not know Nina Williams.

_"We got arrested for car jacking,"_ he said shamefully, bowing his head down.

Paul shot his Korean pal a couple of annoyed glances, revealing he did not want Hwoarang to share that bit of information. He found it to be quite embarrassing since most of the other inmates laughed and made fun of both of them when it was brought up. The crimes the other detainee's had committed were much worse than stealing someone's vehicle. Most of their felonies involved murder and vicious assaults against police. Expecting to hear low chuckles, Paul instead heard nothing come from the assassin's lips.

No sighs of laughter were noticeable on her pale skinned face. There was nothing hysterical about it for her to even crack a smile. Hwoarang found it odd that she didn't even giggle.

_"How come you're not laughing? Don't you want to make fun of us and tell us how stupid that sounds compared to what you did?"_

_"I see no reason to laugh at either of you. I don't see the humor in it at all,"_ stated the assassin.

The two were stunned by her response. They expected her to snicker and make fun of them like the other inmates, but surprisingly she didn't. Inside the Penitentiary, Hwoarang and Paul were usually never taken seriously. They weren't considered tough or bad despite their destructive nature in various fighting Tournaments. For days, they watched from their cell as they saw Nina sit up against the concrete walls looking totally depressed.

Ever since they met her, they did whatever they could to try and cheer her up. Sure they looked like a couple of overconfident, bumbling, perverted fools, but they really weren't. Although they were nice to the Irish assassin, she hardly showed them any signs of gratitude, later that all changed. One day, Craig Marduk, one of the biggest and strongest inmates within the penitentiary, picked a fight with young Hwoarang when he refused to give up one of his meals to him. No one had ever refused to give Marduk anything.

The battle was taken outside with no guards in sight. The Korean man found himself in a tight situation once Craig had sucker punched him to the dusty ground. Believing she had seen enough, Nina surprisingly stepped in and elbowed Marduk in the gut. The Australian brawler was then popped in the face by one of the young assassin's hard right-hand haymakers, and received a staggering kick to the jaw. The entire penitentiary was in shock when they saw the baldheaded bully down on his hands and knees.

With the brute beaten, Nina, along with Paul, went over to check Hworang's condition. The Korean man was fine, only suffering from a few minor bruises to the side of his head.

_"Come on big guy, let's get you back inside,"_ Paul said, draping his young pal's body over his shoulder.

Although she didn't quite know it, Nina was slowly starting to show compassion.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey I'm back with the next chapter. **_

_**To the user Rahef: Yes, you are correct. Nina does not belong in a jail with males. She should be locked up with her own sex. It was just something i threw into the story. Sorry if it didnt make sense. **_

**_Now, on with the story!_**

* * *

Nina wiped the stained blood from her hands and feet with a damp towel after coming back inside the clammy prison cell. Thanks to her interference in the fight between Craig and Hwoarang, the massively large Murduk decided never to pick a fight with the young Korean man again. Just about every inmate that witnessed the skirmish was afraid of Nina after seeing what she did to the arrogant bully. Craig was one of the toughest men in the penitentiary, and if a Irish woman was able to bring him down to his knee's in mere seconds, there was no telling what she could possibly do next. If she wanted to, Nina could have easily killed Murduk right on the spot without any difficulty, but she chose not to and decided to go the other route.

Later that night, she peered through the steel bars on the wall that had an outside view. The brightness of the rising full moon was beautiful as it glared intensely in the darkened sky. When she squinted her eyes a bit, Nina could see the moon resembling the face of her beloved son. All it needed was long golden hair and his skin complexion. He was all she seemed to think about at the moment.

Seeing his charming, young, bright smile brought a warm feeling to her heart. It was a fairly pleasant feeling that did not want to leave. She missed Steve dearly and wanted to see his bright lively face again. Figuring it was time to break out, Nina made a plan. The next morning a guard came wandering through the prison hallways with the keys to the cell doors dangling from his back pocket.

As soon as he passed by Nina's cell, the young assassin grabbed hold of his head through the bars with her hand and began repeatedly slamming it into the bars, thus knocking him out. Once he was rendered unconscious, Nina snatched the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. Letting out a heavy sigh, the Irish inmate was quite happy to be able to finally leave that clammy jail cell she had been sitting in for so long. The air smelt cleaner and the temperature seemed cooler as she approached the outside of the building. Upon opening the exit door, she saw the only obstacle that stood in her way……a barbed wired fence that blocked the path to freedom. As she approached the fence, a group of guard dogs suddenly came chasing after her with police officers tagging along.

_"There she is! Stop!"_ shouted one of the running guards.

Nina quickly jumped onto the fence and climbed as fast she could till she reached the barbed wire. The piercing thorns cut into her skin, leaving red marks across her hand. It was painful indeed, but the assassin was able to withstand the pain. Finally, she had made it over to the other side. Luckily, she managed to shake off the chasing guards by opening a nearby manhole and jumping into the fifthly, swampy sewers.

_**The Hospital**_

Steve lied in the bed peacefully, staring at the walls surrounding him. It seemed luck was on his side as the doctors were able to successfully remove the bullet from his abdomen without any hassle. He was thankful to be alive, but all he cared about was seeing the beautiful Irish woman he had grown to love. Although he didn't know her for that long, he felt a sudden attraction to her that he couldn't bare to deny. He loved her, and he wanted so desperately to tell the woman his true emotions.

It didn't seem likely to happen though, at least to him. Nina was in jail and he was in the hospital so how could he? As he pondered to himself, there was a strange noise heard coming from his window. When he looked over, he saw Nina emerge from the outside, smiling happily. This brought joy to Steve's face as he grinned pleasingly. The young boxer was proud to see the woman he had loved finally return to him.

_"Um…..Hi,"_ he said bashfully.

_"Hey,"_ the assassin replied softly, coming over to his side and grasping his hand with her own.

_"I missed you,"_ uttered the proud boxer.

_"I missed you too,"_ said Nina, running her hands through his soft hair as she hugged and kissed him gently on the forehead.

Now that she was within his presence, Steve could hardly get the words out of telling the Irish woman how he felt about her. Something just seemed to be holding him back. Instead, he changed the subject and refrained from mentioning anything about his affections.

_"I'm going to be here for a few weeks. So, I'll be out of action for awhile."_

_"I don't mind. I'll come see you everyday until your better, just as you did me,"_ Nina noted.

The former inmate was surprised by her words, as she didn't expect such things to be said. In the very beginning, she was rude to Steve and did not really care for him as much as she did now. Now things were different. At first, the woman had trouble showing her emotions. But things have suddenly changed. Nina was no longer afraid to show her affections, and she had her English son to thank.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's notes: Hey guys, I like the positive reviews and all, but I think it's time you got a little more descriptive with your reviews. I've seen some post justone sentence just saying they liked the fic, but I think they need to add more detail instead of just saying they liked it. **__**You know what I mean? I believe you guys mean no harm by it and arent doing it on purpose. I would just like to see more detail thats all. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. **_

**_I've wrote some responses to your reviews at the bottom incase you want to read them._**

* * *

After many long enduring weeks, Steve had finally recovered from the hospital. He was now free to go and do whatever he pleased. It felt good for him to be able to leave that rigidly, uncomfortable bed he had been bounded to for such a long time. Now able to stand on two feet and walk around without any problems, Steve left the hospital with a bright smile. But as good as the proud boxer felt, he believed there was something missing. 

The beautiful Irish woman he had fallen in love with was nowhere to be found. He hadn't seen any sign of her since she came to visit a couple days ago. She promised to come see him as soon as he was released, but never showed. Being every bit as worried, Steve drove up to her apartment. Along the way, he speeded to get there as fast as he could.

The sharp wind blew his loose hair back behind his ears through the opened window. He came to a quick stop once he arrived in the nearly empty parking lot. Upon coming inside the drafty doorway, the place seemed to be an absolute wreck. The elevators hardly worked and little chucks of debris could be seen falling from the cracked ceiling. The area didn't seem fit for a woman.

It was a complete disaster. Steve took the stairs, going up step after continuous step until he reached Nina's floor. He knocked softly on the door, waiting for the young woman to open up and step out, but nobody answered. He tried knocking again and again and still didn't get an answer. The English boxer was determined to see the woman he loved again and decided to stick around until she showed up.

A couple minutes later, he could hear the sounds of joyful humming coming down the hallway. An excited Ling Xiaoyu just happened to be skipping along, regularly. It didn't take long before she spotted the young boxer standing by her neighbor's doorway.

_"Whoa! Excuse me sir, but are you Nina's boyfriend?"_ the little Chinese girl asked examining every part of his masculine body.

Lightly, she patted his arms and legs to see if what she had thought was true. It turned out her assumption was correct. Steve was indeed the hunk she had imagined. His body was as solid as a rock and he appeared much stronger than she believed. The roughness of his rock hard abs, the broadness of his thick shoulders was everything she had imagined.

"_Wow, Nina's really lucky to have a guy like you. Say, do you happen to know any cute guys around my age?"_ the girl giggled, timidly.

Steve chuckled as he stood up against the wall. He was flattered to hear the schoolgirl's nice complements. She was so adorable to him, with her long black pigtails, courteous smile, and friendly eyes. The young boxer couldn't think of a time when he had seen somebody so cute before.

"_I'm sorry, honey. I don't know anybody close to your age," _he replied apologetically

He then changed the subject.

"_Are you one of Nina's friends, by chance?" _

"_Yes I am,"_ Xiaoyu declared. _I'm one of Nina's good, good, friends. I'm always there to help her when she needs it. I'm glad to see she's found a handsome man to be with, I think she really needs one."_

"_What do you mean?"_ The boxer said edging closer.

_"Sometimes, I think she's lonely. I notice she looks unhappy, like she needs someone special in her life. When I first met her, she was always rude and impolite to me. But I think she only acts that way because she needs someone her own age to talk to."_

Nina soon came around the hallway, holding a couple of plastic grocery bags in hand, totally unaware that she was being talked about. When she saw Steve standing right at her doorway, she suddenly dropped the bags on the floor in shock. The sound of the baggage hitting the ground caught both the young boxer and Xiaoyu's attention.

_"Hey there, Nina!" Xiaoyu greeted,_ wrapping her arms around Nina's waist.

The Irish assassin kept her eyes locked on Steve, wondering what his purpose of being in the apartment was. This was a surprise that had caught her completely off guard. She did nothing but stand there with her mouth hung open.

_"Hello, Nina,"_ Steve said walking over to her, picking up the dropped groceries. _"Let me help you with these."_

Nina opened the door and felt the cool breeze of the cold air inside the room as Steve and Xiaoyu followed her inside.

_"I didn't expect you to be here,"_ said the young woman.

_"Well, I didn't see you at the hospital. I figured that I'd come here instead,"_ replied the British boxer.

_"Aww, that's so sweet!" Ling teased,_ ease dropping in the conversation."

Nina glared at her teenage neighbor sinisterly as she sat down on the couch.

_"Hey, Nina, I was wondering if you would like to come to my house and have dinner?"_ asked Steve.

The young woman paused for a second, unsure of what to say. She thought Steve was asking for too much. It was kind of fun at first to do certain things with him, but it started to lose its appeal after awhile. He seemed to be taking things a step further than she thought. Instead of declining, Nina accepted to go.

_"Ok,"_ she said agreeing.

_"Oh, can I go!"_ an excited Xiaoyu piped in, jumping up and down.

_"Of course, why not?"_ Steve said, allowing the young girl to come along.

Nina slipped into something more comfortable before heading out. The heels she wore were hurting her aching feet and needed to be changed right away. Minutes later, Steve went downstairs and waited patiently by his car with the engine running. Xiaoyu sat in the backseat enjoying the cool air that blew inside the vehicle. Finally, Nina came down the stairs and stepped straight into the car.

As soon as the passenger door was fully closed, Steve slammed his foot hard on the accelerator and peeled out of the parking lot. In next to no time, they arrived at the young boxer's house. Getting out of the car first, Xiaoyu was the first to make it to the front door. Steve came to the door next and opened it with his key. What Nina saw impressed her, for she didn't expect her own son to live in such a nice home.

The plush carpet was nicely vacuumed. All shelves and cupboards showed no signs of dust or dirt build up, and the furniture looked entirely brand new. Even the smell of the house was amazing. The pleasant aroma of fresh flowers filled the whole house. It was like somebody's dream home, only it was real.

_"Wow, this is a nice house you got here!"_ Xiaoyu said, twirling around and admiring the place.

"Thanks, I do my best to keep it nice and neat," Steve replied appreciatively.

Nina made her way over to the nearest reclining chair and sat down, making herself comfortable. The snugness of the chair relaxed her tired back. She had been walking around all day without any rest and this was the perfect antidote to solve her problem. As the assassin took some time to unwind herself, Steve went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Xiaoyu sat down on the soft squishy couch and propped her shoeless feet up over the armrest, while watching television on the boxer's thirty inch big screen.

When dinner was ready, Steve called Nina and Xiaoyu to the table. The three of them sat down together and ate as much food as they possibly could. Surprisingly, the English boxer's cooking was wonderful. The food he prepared was actually quite good. After tasting it, Nina couldn't do nothing but feel more proud of her son.

He was good at so many things it was unbelievable. While eating at the table, Xiaoyu suddenly ate herself to sleep. With her arms stretched out all over the place and her head down, Steve decided to take the young schoolgirl upstairs into his room and lay her on the bed. When he came back downstairs, he was happy to know Nina and him were alone, again. Slowly, he sat back down and scooted his chair over beside her.

The Irish woman smiled as she saw him move closer. Gently, he placed his hand on her arm and began massaging it thoroughly with his fingers. The feeling was so pleasant Nina did not want him to stop. Steve's head then approached her pale skinned neck. The two shared a warm kiss that lasted for at least thirty seconds.

As great as it felt, the young assassin had to calmly push the charming Englishman away, and put a stop to the kissing.

_"What's wrong?"_ Steve asked, in a voice of concern.

_"I can't do this, not with you,"_ Nina whispered.

_"Why not?"_

_"Because it isn't right,"_ she added, getting up from the table.

_"I don't understand. What are you talking about? How is this not right?"_ Steve questioned.

_"You have feelings for me, but I don't have the same feelings about you, for reasons I can't explain. I'm…I'm sorry, Steve."_

_"What reasons? What is the reason behind all of this? Why can't you tell me?"_

Nina loved Steve, but did share the same exact feelings he felt for her. It was wrong for a son to fall in love with his own mother, but the young boxer had no idea he was developing strong emotions for the woman who gave birth to him. The assassin was aware of where Steve was taking this, and wanted it to stop. The English boxer began to speak again, but was cut off when a speeding bullet came flying through his glass window. It flew straight past Nina's right ear and into a wall.

Pieces of shattered glass spilled all over the floor and table from the impact the bullet had made with the window. More shells were fired, but in small bursts.

"What the hell?" Steve thought, taking cover behind the chairs.

The young assassin knew what was the cause behind the shooting. It had to be the work of another hired thug aimed to kill her. These vicious attacks were getting out of hand. She wondered as to how these hit men always knew where to find her. Taking a small gun from her back pocket, Nina cocks it and prepares herself for action.

* * *

**Crimson Wolf **

Huh? This isn't the end of your story, is it? I hope it isn't... shivers I hope you update again but if you don't, that's alright I 'spose...

**_Thunderxtw"s reply: No, this isnt the end of the story, so dont worry. When it comes to an end I'll be sure to tell you just as I did in my Assassin Strikes fic._**

* * *

**Rahaf...: **...hi there...that was a nice chapter...more ASAP...GOOD LUCK...PEACE...- 

**_Thunderxtw's reply: I'm glad you liked it. More is on the way._**

* * *

**paigematthews1225**: that is so sweet it makes me want to read it more 

**_Thunderxtw's reply: Thanks. I hope you continue to_**

**

* * *

Krappkarmin:** Aww...wipe a tear away they're finally together again! I'm so happy! Well, don't stop here! Continue quick!  
Oh, and thank you so much for reviewing my fic. It gave me motivation. What you're expecting from Preston, well, you guessed right. You won't like what will happen but Preston won't show his true self until Miharu is gone from Earth into Steve's world. Yeah, some hints of his intention might show here and there the next few chaps. You're the first person to actually tell me about your discovery.  
Well, thanks again and don't ever give up on this fic! I LOVE the way you describe Steve. That's similar to how I'm gonna describe him.  
Peace 

_**Thunderxtw's reply:**_ **_Your very welcome, Krappkarmin. It's always good to have some motivation. Your story is really good and I hope you continue with it. I wanted my review to be more descriptive. If people just tell that they liked your story without giving any information as to why, you kind of feel like you wasted your time writing. I'm sure it took you longer than a few minutes to type those chapters, so I think its important that someone at least tells you how they enjoyed your story. _**

**_Don't worry, this story aint finished. It will continue on. Anyway, I wish you well, and good luck with your fic._**


	9. Chapter 9

The glaring sun started to drift itself downward into a temporary sleep, while allowing a black shade of darkness to cover the sky in its entirety. The scurrying crickets chirped loudly in the evenly cut grass of Steve Fox's yard as Nina stepped out onto the wooden patio searching for the gun wielding assassin that threatened her, Steve, and Xiaoyu's life. It was a little dark, but not so much as dark to the point where nothing could be seen in the yard. The silent pushing wind blew against Nina's loose clothing, causing it to flap around wildly. Cocking her loaded pistol back, she prepared herself for anything that appeared to want to jump out from anywhere and attack her.

The chirping sounds of the crickets were the only noise present, other than Nina breathing in the coolness of the fresh air. A few yards away from her stood a wooden shed, a place where Steve normally stored his tools for the lawn. Something seemed to be moving around from inside as a strange rattling sound could be heard moving about from within. Nina decided to step in for a closer look and investigate. Pulling open the shed door, she could make out some of the objects inside that were still visible thanks to the beaming lights from the patio.

A couple lawnmowers, a shiny red weed whacker, and fertilizer were among the few things that could easily be made out. The shed didn't seem to have anything inside other than lawn and gardening tools. With that in mind, Nina left and went back out into the cold. Once she had set foot back on the jointed stems of grass, something grabbed and attempted to strangle her from around the neck. Knowing it was the assassin hiding in the shadows, she quickly elbowed the unwelcome guest in the stomach twice, stomped on his foot, and flipped him down on his back. He sat up, grabbing hold of Nina's leg, causing her to lose balance and fall.

He pulled her half way across the lawn and kicked her multiple times in the kidney area, while she was down in a fetal position. Things weren't looking good for the blonde woman until she managed to grab hold of the leg he used to kick her. She twisted his ankle and tripped the other so he would fall. Holding onto the joint between his foot and leg, Nina twisted it with all her might until it finally snapped. The assassin could be heard screaming in horrific pain, the pain the young woman had brought upon his now broken ankle.

But damaging one body part wasn't enough for Miss Williams, oh no. She wanted to take it even further and make him suffer even more. Eyeing his other ankle and his arm, she broke those two as well. It brought joy to her face to see a man squeal like a whining pig in the night. Now he was crippled with two broken ankles and one broken arm that dangled in a deformed manner. He looked like he was in need of a doctor, for all his ligaments were bending the wrong way.

"Do you like the feeling of pain? Because I'm just getting started," Nina said whispering into his ear. The assassin learned that Nina was not one to mess around with during the beating he was suffering through. If you were willing to take her on, be prepared to lose some of the feeling in your limbs. Once Nina was through playing with the assassin and leaving him completely crippled, she pressed her foot into the right of his hip.

"So, who sent you after me?" she questioned.

"I can't tell you… he'd kill me."

"What makes you think I wont?" Nina said rolling her eyes, and pushing the heel of her foot even deeper into his hip.

"I don't really know him! He's some old guy. He just paid me to kill you, that's all!

"Thanks," Nina said, snapping his neck like a twig with her bare hands.

A minute later, Steve came outside looking rather worried. He searched for scars and bruises, but found nothing of the sort on Nina's face or body. They both stepped back into the house together and walked into the living room. The look on Steve's face grew even more serious than before, as there were a few certain questions he had wanted to get off his chest. "Nina, what's going on? Why are these people coming after you?

Nina took a deep breath, feeling the time to tell him was now. To make sure he was comfortable, she polity asked him to sit down on the sofa. Steve took a seat, and was all ears to what the woman he loved had to say.

"They're hit men. They've been after me for several months. Everywhere I go they seem to have some way of knowing exactly where I am, which is one of the reasons why we can't be together.

That explained all the shooting, but it didn't really answer Steve's other question that he had yet to ask.

"What is the main reason why we can't be together?" he asked.

Nina paused, looking into his saddened eyes. He was extremely heartbroken to hear he couldn't be with the woman he felt was the love of his life. The affections he had for her were strong, and he didn't want to give them up. Even with knowing she had a dangerous life, the British boxer still wanted to be with her. He was willing to go so far as to risk his own life just to be together with her.

But no matter how he felt, the emotions he had formed for the young lady were the wrong emotions. Thinking it was just natural male human love, it didn't add up to him as to why they were the wrong feelings. After all, he was a man and she was a woman, so what made it wrong for him to love her the way he did?

"Do you remember when we talked about you wondering who your mother was?" Nina said. "And did you ever wonder what she looked like or how she sounded?"

Steve gave a slight nod, not understanding where the conversation was going.

"Of course. We spoke about that at the restaurant. But what does that have to do with me and you?"

"Everything."

"What are you saying, Nina?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"If you ever wondered who your mother was, look no further because she's standing…in front of you."

There was nothing, nothing but silence in the room for a brief moment. Nina believed this was hard for Steve, but he had to know the truth. A son had the right to know the identity of his own mother. It was something all parents should know. Waiting for Steve's reply, Nina heard nothing but the cackling sounds of laughter. She looked over to see her son laughing hysterically over what she had just said. Happy tears could be seen leaking from his eyes as he saw it as more of a joke than what it really was intended to be.

"You're my mother, that's a good one!" he chuckled.

Nina's eyes suddenly turned into flaming balls of fire. This was serious and yet he was treating it as if it were some kind of prank. Seeing him laugh made her want to strike him across the face. This was emotional as it could get for Nina and she didn't appreciate the response she was getting. Steve expected her to burst out laughing as well and admit it was all just a playful joke, but her mouth didn't even crack a smile.

Staring into her icy cold eyeballs, he could see a look of seriousness. The chuckling soon died down into soft silence. Secretly, an awakened Xiaoyu happened to be watching the two from the top of the steps as they informally talked to each other. She thought of there conversation to be much more interesting than the stuff shown on television.

"There's no way you can be my mother. Your much too young," Steve noted.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it is true. I am your real biological mother."

"How? Can you prove it?"

"Yes, there is proof, but I have nothing to gain from lying to you, Steve."

"Then if it is true tell me this…why take so long to tell me?"

"Fear. I've never feared anything in my life before…until I met you. I have a very dangerous life, and I did not want you apart of it. I believed never telling you would be the best thing to do. Why would you want to know that your own mom is a hunted assassin?"

"What a minute…assassin? You are an assassin?"

Nina nodded shamefully to his response.

"Yes. I've taken lives here and there without any concern. People fear me and run away from me. Everyone that looks at me…sees me as a monster. I was even given the nickname "The Cold Hearted Assassin" by many. I drew blood. I devoured pain, and I tortured my victims until they were put out of their misery. The only people that haven't seen me or labeled me as a monster are you and Xiaoyu."

Steve sat back even further in the couch with his hands on the sides of his face. He had to relax himself for a while, for this was truly shocking news. He now knew everything about Nina that there was to know, and understood why she didn't share the same emotions he felt in return. Minutes went by without a word being said. Little Xiaoyu was also in shock, as she sat at the top of the steps.

She now knew why Nina acted the way she did towards her and others. But this wasn't going to sway their friendship. Even after learning her neighbor was an assassin, Xiaoyu was going to continue being the friend she was to Nina. Steve sat on the couch still puzzled with his eyes glued to the floor and both of his hands resting on his lap. It had been five minutes since he last said a single word.

Coping with what was said earlier was hard for the young boxer. Too much had been put on his mind. The look on his face explained it all. Nina came and sat down on the couch next to him. Slowly, she brought his head over into her lap and ran her fingers through his evenly combed hair-- kind of like a mother did her small child. Xiaoyu wanted to cry, for she could tell how both Steve and Nina felt. Such a thing was hard for both of them.

* * *

**Crimson Wolf :**Erg... Nee... Er... I guess Steve might be with Xiaoyu? Well, she did mention wanting someone around her own age... If you DO put her with Steve, I guess I can handle that, I guess, lol. 

I understand your feelings about wanting more detailed reviews. I wish I could get more of those so I can improve my writing skills (if there's any of that) but it's hard to find patient review people around here.

Anyway, more on this chapter... Well, bullets just come whizzing by at the worst times, don't they? What'll happen when Nina finally gets to tell Steve that she's his mother? (er... if that happens.) It was also a bit astonishing how Steve has (or had) an actual 'home', seeing as the mob was lookin' to kill him. I'd always pictured lots of 5 Star hotels for the boxer. Hm... I guess that's all I got... Not truly a detailed review but I'll be sure to be more observant next time I read this story... Oh, and overall it's another great chapter! gives thumbs up

**Thunderxtw's reply: I understand how you feel. I submitted some other stories that are considered to be really good by a couple people, but only a small tiny number read them and sometimes I decide to just cancel the story and write for it no longer.**

**About the bullets, yeah they just keep coming at the worst times. It's like in life when something is supposed to happen but it constantly keeps getting interuppted by something else. That's happened to me a lot.**

**Steve could be in a hotel, but in this story the mob no longer exists, so there's no need to hide. I should have mentioned that...my bad!**

**Your review is still good regardless. I think you can be a good writer as long as you show your dedication to it.**

**Thanks for your kind words.**

* * *

**Rahaf**: OMG,poor guy,i feel bad 4 him,..  
...  
why dont Nina & Steve infiltrate the Mishima headquarter to find who could the father be..""  
...  
love the way u potray Ling... 

hope 2 see more Nina action soon...

..i was wondering if u could do a death by degree fic after this is done..if its ok with u...have u played the game btw,

wish u the best of luck...  
PEACE...

**Thunderxtw's reply: Yeah, I feel sad for both of them..(sniff) **

**I alway's try to imagine Ling in my head then I just write it down. I do that with a lot of my stories where I have to actually picture the character...I'm sure I'm not the only one that does that.**

**About Death by Degrees: No, I havent played the game. I heard it was horrible. It got really bad reviews from critics everywhere. I don't think its really as bad though as some say. The game looks fun and I would get it but the price for it is too high...maybe when it goes down I'll think about picking it up. I coulddo some research and make a fic for it any way even though I havent played the game. Making a fic of it I wouldnt mind doing.**

**Thanks for your review.**

* * *

**krappkarmin**: I'm sorry if my reviews are too plain. I think I know how you feel about those 'it's great, I want to read more, update soon' stuff. I type those all the time and took them for granted. Even those reviews for my fic I took for granted. I'll try to change that.  
So let me get serious about this chap. I find Steve's affection for Nina disturbing. (I'm not trying to be offensive in any way) Teh feelings that he should feel, I think, should be the same kind of love Nina's feeling for him. Steve's twenty-one in your fic is it not? Then Xiaoyu would be a more suitable partner for him if you're considering a more normal couple in this story. I've never actually seen a Steve and Xiaoyu pairing but it'll be interesting if you really pair them up together. (If you want to of course) It'll be better if he falls for Miharu. Another problem would be the italics of the quotes said by the characters. Is there a reason for that?  
I like your fic is becasue it's not making fun of Steve. I find a lot of Steve-bashing fics out there. That's why I appreciate your story so much. (And of course the other authors who doesn't make Steve a stupidhead in their stories)  
How's that? Hmm...come to think of it, this is how a true review should look like. Its purpose is to help the author make his or her story better.  
As for the status of my fic, I just started on chapter three and had some parts planned. Still working on it though...  
Thank you for your reviews and continue 'Nina Returns' soon!  
Peace 

**Thunderxtw's reply: You dont have to apologize, its alright. **

**Yeah, I know how you feel about the feelings. That's really sick when you think about it, don't ya think? And I agree, Xiaoyu would be a better choice for him since she's closer to his age and has no direct relation to him.**

**The quoted italics are just a habit I picked up. I read other fics and see people doing the same, so I kind of followed in their footsteps.**

**I really don't tend to make fun of certain characters unless they play as the bad guy. I mean who doesent wanna make fun of the jerk who deserves to get his? Steve's a cool guy and I find him likeable. I havent really seen the Steve bashing fics you speak of. I don't like seeing my favorite characters getting made fun of either in fics, but its the authors own right to write what they want.**

**I read your fic earlier and I must say you have me interested to read more of it. Don't keep me waiting long... hee hee! **

**Good Luck with the story and thank you for your review.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's notes: I'm sorry everyone for taking so long to update. I wanted to get this one out much sooner but things got in the way.**_

**

* * *

**

**krappkarmin: **It's great you continued. Steve's taking it really hard, huh. I wonder how Namco's gonna make Steve's reaction when he finds out Nina's his mother. Well, he kinda knew in the series I think...  
Oh, I still have yet to tell you about Miharu. She's an actual fighter in Tekken. She appears as an unlockable character in the fourth tournament. She has the same exact moves as Xiaoyu. I was disappointed when Miharu wasn't put in Tekken 5.  
It's great that you haven't seen any fics that makes fun of Steve yet. Just don't explore too much...those fic don't make fun of Jin and Hwoarang, but I guess the author that wrote it doesn't like Steve. I myself like Steve and Hwoarang a bit better than Jin. I don't know why but Jin just doesn't catch my attention as much.  
I'm glad there's another Steve fan. Don't EVER give up on this fic!  
Peace

_**Thunder's reply: Yeah, I'm wondering that to. I don't think it will turn out like this story, but it would indeed be cool if it did. **_

_**I did search around for Miharu and found out who she was. Maybe Namco will put her in Tekken 6 and give her some different moves so she won't seem so much like Xiaoyu. Its just a thought. Don't know if it will happen.**_

_**About Steve, I'm kinda glad I did not see any Steve bashing fics. He's a cool guy. I don't know what there is to dislike about him...different tastes I guess. I forgot to mention in my review of your fic that those pictures of yours were truly stunning and well...cute! You got some good talent there. I wish I could draw like that.**_

**_Anyway, thank you for your review. I look forward to your next chapter about Miharu._**

**_

* * *

FlamingFenix:You continued the story in a cool way, but i think you should have emphasised more on the shock emotions of steve. anyway not bad. _**

**_Thunder's reply: Sorry, I'll try to work on that. Thanks for your review._**

* * *

**Rahaf: **wow..every time it gets better...  
...  
hm could Hehatchi be that old guy...? 

i realy cant get enough of your stories...U ROCK..  
GOOD LUCK...  
PEACE...

_**Thunder's reply:**_ **Read on, my friend, to find out. Thanks for the review.**

**

* * *

**

**Amanda:** There is only one critisim I can come up with. It seems that most of your chapters end with Nina and Steve being interrupted by gunman. This scenerio is becoming a little redundant. I hoping that now that Nina has told Steve the truth you can move the plot further along and create new hurddles for them to cross.

**_Thunder's reply: Yes, I noticed this too. I'll fix that. Thanks for the review._**

**_

* * *

_**

**_Forsaken Goddess:_** This is my first Tekken fic and it rocks! Please update soon!

**_Thunder's reply:_** **Oh wow! My fic is your first? Cool! (blushes). Wait no longer for the fic is here.**

* * *

Steve was glad to be able to meet his mother, but at the same time he was a little upset. He didn't like the fact that Nina turned out being the woman he had been longing to see his whole life since childhood. Over time, he had developed a huge crush for the Irish beauty and was expecting to get even closer to her than ever before. But now learning that the woman was his mother, this changed everything. The two couldn't date nor could they get married or have children together, as Steve seemed to be hoping for in the future in the back of his mind. 

It was a sort of confusing for Steve as well as Nina, for neither of them really understood their relation to each other. A few days later, Steve went to the diner still emotionally shattered by the astounding news heard from earlier. There, he met up with detective Lei Wulong, a crime investigator that had promised to help the young middleweight uncover the mysteries of his origin. The whole search through, Steve didn't relay anything to Lei about Nina. Even after hearing her claim of being his mother, he still wanted to find out for himself if what she said was accurate or not.

After awhile, the two stumbled upon some information that proved to be useful. The knowledge obtained from the investigation told that Steve was actually a creation created by the Mishima Zaibatsu. He also learned of the Zaibatu's evil plans to create experiments like him. This infuriated Steve exceedingly. "That's what I am, an experiment? This is madness! I won't allow that place to create monsters such as me," he boldly screamed.

It didn't make much sense at first. How could the Zaibatsu have created Steve if Nina was the mother? Whatever the answer was he believed Nina had some type of specific link to it that she might have been involved in. Soon, he went over to Nina's apartment for a confrontation and to tell her of his discovery. When the door opened, Nina stood bare footed, clad in a black shirt that exposed a small portion of her well toned abs and blue jeans with the pants legs rolled up at the bottom.

Welcoming her troubled son inside, she walked into the kitchen to grab him an ice-cold beer from the close to empty refrigerator. But Steve preferred a glass of water instead, so she went back and got him what he had asked for. Nina sat down on the couch beside him and could tell something was wrong. She thought he was still finding it hard to cope with her being his mother. That was partially true but not quite what she had thought.

He had a gloomy expression on his face as he barely could make direct eye contact with her. Gulping the fresh water down, he started talking. "I was created by the Mishima Zaibatsu… as an experiment. They are currently making others like me in the process, and I don't like it. Are you somehow in on this charade, too?"

Nina stared at him with a look of uncertainty. "The Mishima Zaibatsu? I don't recall having anything to do with that."

"How is it that the Mishima Zaibatsu created me and yet you claim you're the one who gave birth to me? Are you playing some kind of sick game?" Steve angrily bellowed

"All I know is when I once worked for the syndicate they told me directly that you were indeed my biological son. Like I said before, I have nothing to gain from lying to you," retorted Nina, noticing the strong bass tone in his voice.

She could sense his anger rising. This situation left him emotionally scarred. Through the conversation, he continuously raised his voice at Nina, getting in her face and interrogating her with questions. It didn't take long before Nina got sick of it and snapped at him.

"Hey! Back off! I know it may seem confusing to you. It is confusing to me as well. Instead of yelling back and forth at each other like little kids, I think we should try to solve the problem and find the answer ourselves."

"What do you mean?" Steve muttered, while scooting over to the armrest, realizing Nina wasn't the one to get mouthy with.

"I think the answer to our questions is somewhere within the Zaibatsu," Nina clarified.

"Perhaps your right," Steve said, rubbing his chin in wonder. "I say we go down there and get to the bottom of this!"

**_Later, at the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters_**

An infuriated Heihachi Mishima sat in his office chair, repeatedly bashing his large fist against the hard wooden desk that stood in front of him.

"I've sent all these assassins after her and yet somehow she manages to survive. She's just one woman. I don't understand it!"

"Mr. Heihachi, sir. I think we are underestimating Nina Williams a bit too much," his secretary weakly responded.

"Think? Think? You don't get paid to think, you blundering fool. Get out of my office, now! I need to be alone!"

Heihachi was in a foul mood. He longed for the day Nina would die a slow and painful death at the hands of him or one of his hired thugs. But so far, he didn't seem to be getting what he had wanted. A few years ago, Nina attempted to assassinate Heihachi during the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. The motives were unknown, but the head of the Zaibatsu didn't care. Longing for revenge, all he wanted was for her to pay the hefty price that anyone had to pay when they messed with Heihachi Mishima, and that was death itself. But the many assassins he had sent out to murder her were all in fact dead. Nina wasn't going to be an easy a pushover. Killing her was going to be a great challenge for any hit man that took on the job. Reaching over to his phone, Heihachi figured he knew just the person to call to take care of the Irish assassin and finish her off for good.

**_Back at the apartment_**

Nina slipped into a black, full body, camouflageoutfit toblend herself in the darkness. Figuring Steve and her might encounter some trouble along the way inside the Zaibatsu, she dug through her closet and pulled out an arsenal of weapons, weapons such as Katana blades, pistols, submachine guns and explosives. Steve eyes nearly poked out of his head when he saw the huge amount of weaponry Nina was packing.

"What the hell? You should be an arms dealer. Where did you get all of this stuff?"

"My secret," Nina softly giggled.

Now dressed and fully armed, Nina was ready and willing to go to the Zaibatsu along with Steve and take on anything that stood in their way.


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors notes**: _**(Sigh), sorry for taking so long. I really wish I could get the chapters of Nina out faster. I hope I can do so next time.**_

* * *

Quietly, Nina, along with Steve following in from behind, managed to sneak into the Zaibatsu without attracting any means of attention. The lights on the ceiling inside were slightly dimmed, giving the area a bit of a shaded dark look. The only noise present was the sound of the already active computers that sat together in rows. Across the tables draped over with white sheets of cloth stood dozens of chemicals all poured in glass tubes and bottles. When Steve took notice of the bottled chemicals, he broke every last one on the table by shattering them on the tiled floor. Everything inside the room disgusted him from the strange bottled substances to the creepy capsules that sat in the far corner over by the walls. Nina had to restrain him roughly before he nearly destroyed anything else. 

"Hey! Calm down! I know your angered by what you see, but we came here to look for things…not destroy them," she said, reminding him.

"After our search is finished, I suggest we burn this place to the ground. What they're creating here is horrible," Steve shuddered.

"Whatever you want, but lets not destroy what we came to find. When our search is finished we can torch the place, ok?"

Steve gave a slight agreeable nod as Nina slowly unwrapped her hands from around his muscular frame. Going over to the nearest computer and sitting in the softly cushioned, height adjustable chair, she searched the files for any obtainable information that would prove to be useful. To no surprise, this wasn't the first time Nina had broken into a building having to scan computers for important information. During her past jobs as an assassin, she had also done it, but not before learning how to use the computers properly.

Twenty minutes had past with no luck so far of finding anything significant. Steve watched patiently against one of the desks as Nina fiddled around with the keyboard and mouse, streaming all the data she could. The dim lights suddenly flickered on, brightening the room up as Nina continued searching.

"What did you turn the lights on for?" she questioned, looking up at Steve.

"That wasn't me," the boxer replied in an irritable tone.

"Ahem!" said a voice from the entrance to the room.

The two turned their heads to see Heihachi and a few armed security guards standing by the entrance. The old man looked rather pleased to see Nina, seeing as how this saved him a lot of trouble of having to send another hit man to try and take her out. Now he could do it himself and be rid of her once and for all.

"Ah, Ms. Williams, its so nice to see you again. The last time we met I believe you tried to kill me."

"My goodness, how old are you, old man? Shouldn't you have died a long time ago?" Nina said, jokingly.

"Regardless of my age, I can still squash you like a bug! There's no escape route for you to run away to like last time. Let's settle this assassin, you and me, right now!"

Heihachi was eager to fight Nina since the day she tried to kill him, now was his chance to return the favor. Little by little, he unbuttoned his dress shirt and threw it on the floor, exposing an old but well-defined figure. The fight was going to be very intense. Heihachi never removed his shirt unless he was expecting a brutal and deadly battle. Blood was bound to be drawn somewhere down the line and he knew this. Nina sat up from the computer chair, hoisting her sharp katina blade in hand.

"If you're a real fighter you won't have any need for such a weapon!" Heihachi cracked. "Or are you much too weak without it?"

Nina glanced at the sword for a split second and dropped it on the ground. Whether it was the use of weapons or hand-to-hand combat, it didn't quite matter to her which one it was. Steve wasn't very familiar with Heihachi's background, so of course he didn't know what the elderly Mishima was capable of. He believed Nina could take him down with no problem. But Heihachi was no ordinary human being. The elderly Mishima possessed great strength and power. Sure he was old, but not so old as meant to be underestimated.

Nina started the fight off with a split kick to the ribs of Heihachi, but he easily shook it off and knocked her down with heavy right hand to the cheek. She fell, but didn't quite hit the ground. Before touching the floor with her body, Nina pressed down on the floor to hold herself up and leg sweep Heihachi. With a loud thud, the whole room shook from his massive weight. He couldn't believe he had been put down on the floor so quickly. It seemed embarrassing, even having it done by a woman. Even though he was down, Nina wasn't going to give him a chance to recuperate.

Heihachi sat up, only to have his face suppressed between Nina's thick, curvy legs and be flipped straight over on his back. The security guards offered to give their assistance, but Heihachi refused it, wanting to beat Nina on his own without any outside interference. The two wrestled on the floor and around the room, smashing each other into capsules, walls, and computers. Recklessly, they were breaking everything in sight, but neither of them gave any mind to it. Heihachi blocked a few of Nina's stingingly painful jabs and countered with a few hard kicks that sent the Irish woman flying across the floor. She sprung back up on her feet, and tackled Heihachi into one of the still active computers on one of the nearby desktops.

Sparks of electricity flashed with the table and chairs crashing down on each other from the sudden impact. Steve was surprised to see how brutal both Heihachi and Nina fought. They came off as more tough than the fighters he encountered in the boxing ring. As the two separated for a moment, leaks of blood could be seen dripping from various places. Nina's left arm had a few bleeding scars as did a small portion of her face. Heihachi's chest had a few blood wounds here and there, but nothing too major.

Nina seemed to be wiped out. She was breathing heavily from exhaustion and didn't seem to be able to carry the fight on for much longer. Heihachi took advantage of the moment when saw it and struck Nina with his fist to knock her backwards. Before she collapsed, he grabbed her by the neck and laughed manically in her face.

"You fool! Did you actually think you could defeat me, Heihachi Mishima?"

Strangling her by the neck, Heihachi delivered a harsh kick to Nina's ribs and dropped her. Steve became infuriated by what he saw when he watched the elderly Mishima stomp the Irish woman while she was down. With a quick swing of his fist, Steve cracked Heihachi right in the skull and sent him flying into his own security.

"That's it! Get them!" Heihachi yelled, ordering his security to attack.

Steve took hold of a wounded Nina Williams and dashed out of the room before bullets were fired. Dozens of armed security forces came from everywhere ranging from stairways, to offices, to bathrooms. Luckily, Steve found a shadowed area in one of the offices Nina and him could hide in for the time being.

The guards broke into groups, searching the whole entire building. Steve and Nina had no idea how bad they had it. If they were spotted, they were as good as dead. It was going to be quite hard to escape the building with all the advanced security roaming around.

"Nina, are you ok?" Steve whispered with concern, eying Nina's blood wounds.

"Do I look ok to you?" She angrily snapped. "Damn, what a stupid question."

"Hey, don't get upset at me. I just wanted to know your condition that's all."

"My condition? Well, you know how crap feels when its stomped on and thrown against the wall? That's how I feel."

Steve was happy that Nina could still joke around, even intense pain. But wisecracks weren't going to help either of them with the bleak situation they were in. Suddenly, they could hear the sounds of security forces moving around inside the office. Steve hushed Nina's mouth from her constant moaning, so she wouldn't grab any of the guards attention. But it became harder and harder as Nina couldn't control herself. The wounds hurt so much it was becoming difficult to maintain the moaning.

"Hey, did you hear something?" one of the guards said, asking the others. "I think it came from over here."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's notes: _Sorry for the delay folks. Wait no longer for the next chapter is here_**.

* * *

Nina could feel the aching wounds she had received during the fight with Heihachi beginning to hurt and sting even more. No longer could she keep her voice down, the pain was just too unbearable to resist. One of the security guards stepped closer to the far corner where Steve and her were concealed by darkness. He could hear the sounds her heavy breathing and suffering groans. From the moment he heard the groaning noises, he knew somebody was there. 

Slowly pulling a gun from his strapped waist, the guard shined a bright laser from the scope of the weapon to the wall. Steve could see the laser reflecting off the plaster as the guard drew closer to his position. Nina was in bad shape, and he didn't want the guard to see her in the condition she was in. Doing the only thing he figured he could do, Steve came out of hiding and revealed himself to the guards. They quickly tackled and restrained him to the floor, not giving him the chance to move his legs or arms. Nina heard Steve struggle and grunt, but there was nothing she could do at the moment to help him.

"Mr. Heihachi, we got the man, but we don't know where the assassin is," the guard said, speaking into his radio.

"Search everywhere! I want her alive, and bring the guy up to me; I'll deal with him myself!" Heihachi shouted back.

"Yes sir."

Nina was left alone inside the messy office in the corner of the dark corner of the room as the guards exited with Steve held in their custody. She understood that he practically sacrificed himself so the guards wouldn't catch her. What he did was brave but also foolish, so she thought. He was now a prisoner of Heihachi, and there was no telling what the owner of the Zaibatsu would do to him.

Nina crouched forward onto the carpeted floor and lied there, bleeding small portions of blood from her wounded side. She wanted to get up, get up and fight, but her injuries were holding her back from doing anything. The searing pain had constrained her to the floor. It was difficult to move with being scratched and cut nearly everywhere. Although she was hurt, Nina wasn't going to let the injury get the best of her.

She got up slowly, taking in all the heavy pain she could feel while she stood up. Across the office on a wooden coated desk lied a roll of duck tape. Nina eyed the roll as she walked towards it like a crippled old woman. The pain got even sharper with every step taken and blood continued to spill and stain the expensive carpet. She took the tape, ripped a piece of it from the roll, and placed it on every wound felt on her body. It wasn't a properly suited bandage, but it got the job done of keeping the blood in.

All over herself she could feel soreness. The aching wounds stayed with her, but at least the bleeding had stopped. Letting her leather coat drop to the floor, she pulled out two submachine weapons that were tightly strapped around her belted waist, and proceeded out of the office.

Outside in the halls, security guards roamed everywhere, searching the area like vicious bloodhounds. Before one of the guards almost spotted her, Nina hid behind a cement-layered wall. If she went out with guns blazing there was no doubt it would draw attention and create even more problems. Nina didn't want to attract anything. It was best to keep things quiet for now .The biggest problem at the moment was finding Steve and getting out of the building alive and in one piece.

Quietly, she crept up the stairs to the next floor and was confronted by a wandering guard on the way. Without making any heavy sounds to alert anybody, Nina kicked the guard in the stomach and snapped his neck as he bent over. She dragged his lifeless body down and hid it underneath the staircase to avoid having it exposed to his looming comrades. Checking his pocket, she found a couple keycards that went to certain locked rooms within the building. The cards were going to be a huge help in getting in all the locked rooms Nina wouldn't have been able to get into without them. Each guard within the building carried a certain specific keycard that went to a certain room door. Only the employees that worked for Heihachi could obtain one.

Soon, another guard could be heard coming down the steps. Nina hid herself under the steps and waited for him to pass. Once he was off the steps, the Irish assassin grabbed him by the neck and clinched it tightly with her arms. She could see he was trying to reach for his radio and alert the other guards, Nina made sure that didn't happen and snapped his neck. More guards came down the steps, at least five of them. There wasn't going to be anytime to hide or leave the staircase before they showed up. Quietly, they descended down the stairs seeing no one in site.

"I could have sworn I heard something down here," said one guard.

"Maybe it was just your imagination," added in another guard.

With that, the five guards departed from the area. Nina then came down from the ceiling of the staircase after clinging to it like a spider. Up ahead, she checked all the offices on the floor but found nothing but empty rooms. Opening the other doors with the required keycard, Nina stumbled upon more computer mainframes. The rooms were much larger than the one Steve and her infiltrated earlier. It was likely the mainframes contained the information they were looking for, but now was not the time to worry about that. Every wasted second that went by Steve could be getting tortured or worse for what she knew by Heihachi and his men. Suddenly, Nina could heard familiar voices coming through the air vents.

"I'll ask you one last time, little man, where the hell is the assassin hiding?"

"Assassin? What assassin?" A voice said, pretending to be oblivious to everything that was going on..

"Don't play stupid with me! I'll have you shot instantly if you don't cooperate!"

"What makes you think I know anything about an assassin?"

"That woman you were with when you broke in here. I can have you arrested for trespassing, you know? Now tell me, where is Nina Williams?"

Judging by the conversation, Heihachi was going through interrogation procedures to get Steve to talk, but the young Brit refused to be cooperative. He'd rather die sell Nina out to the likes of Heihachi.

Eyeing the vent beside her, Nina took the cover off and crawled inside, following the sound of the bellowing voices. Filthy rat vermin scurried in fear towards the other direction as Nina made her way through. Minutes later, she reached the office containing Heihachi, his guards, and Steve Fox. Steve looked as if he had received a beating far worse the one Nina had gotten earlier. His blonde hair had been ruffled and his face had been busted up.

"I will ask you one more time and you better not give a stupid or sarcastic remark!" Ordered Heihachi.

Before Heihachi p questioned Steve again, Nina smashed through the air vent and shot all the guards in the room dead. The searing pain in her sides started to hurt again while dropping to the floor from the vent, and she attempted to ignore it but it was getting worse. She needed to be taken to a hospital.

"Nina, it's about time you showed up," Steve said.

Nina had her gun pointed directly at Heihachi's face. There was a small button on his desk that would alert all the guards in the Zibatsu and call them up to the top floor. To make sure he didn't press it, Nina commanded him to step away from his desk.

"Get away from the desk, now!"

Heihachi was in no position to disobey, so he did as he was told.

"Why have the two of you come here?" the old man asked.

"I should be asking the question around here!" Nina snapped. "I know you have something to do with all these hit-men that have been chasing me."

"Ah, yes, the hit-man," Heihachi said, pointing up to Nina's bruised face. Rub the upper left side of your neck."

Nina didn't know the reason behind doing as the man asked, but she did it anyway. On her neck she felt and pulled off a small tracking device that had been somehow planted on her.

"That tracking device is how the hit-men found you. Its been planted on you for months without you knowing. With it, I was able to trace your every move and pinpoint your exact location."

After taking a good look in at the tracking device, Nina dropped it to the floor and crushed it into pieces underneath her black leather boot. She hoisted her gun back up and directly aimed it at Heihachi's bare chest.

"Alright you senile old fool. What do you know?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: Well, people, this is it, the final and last chapter of Nina Returns. I hope you all have enjoyed me presenting you with this story, as I have surely enjoyed writing it. My writing skills have improved greatly since the writing of this story and The Assassin Strikes. Do not think this means the end. I will still continue to write stories about my favorite female Tekken character. I've been given great feedback and advice, and hoped to create something that will surpass this fic and the one before it.**

**The purpose of this story was to display something for those wanting to see a more gentle side of Nina, and how a relationship could work between her and Steve if it actually happend, though I doubt Namco will do it anything like my story if it ever happens. I hope they will, because I've always wanted such a thing to happen. **

**Anyway, on with the final chapter! **

* * *

It appeared that Nina had everything in control now as she gripped Heihachi by the collar of his dress shirt, pulling his pointed nose closer into the barrel of her gun. Heihachi, of course, showed no fear, choosing not to be intimidated by the aching assassin. The thin smile on his weary face would grow brighter every second as if knew about something he was keeping hidden within. 

After feeling a little strange, a pain stricken Steve soon drove Nina's attention away from the zibatsu owner as he started to moan from an aching pain growing deep within the scar found on his arm.

"Steve. What's wrong with you?

"My arm hurts, I don't know why though. It was fine a minute ago."

Nina placed her eyes on his arm and saw it beginning to swell. She didn't understand what was happening and neither did the suffering boxer. Heihachi saw this as a chance of open opportunity. He darted away from Nina's gun and immediately pressed his fist down onto the red button layered above his office table. A dozen sliders came storming inside the office, armed with guns, shields, and other weaponry.

Nina and Steve looked on as they found themselves completely surrounded. Heihachi now felt that he had the last laugh after all and was going to have the thrill of getting his way. The guards pointed their weapons, ordering the intruders to raise their hands and surrender. But Nina wasn't willing to be captured or killed. Narrowly, she observed something hanging from the belt of one of the armed guards, a grenade. Instead of giving in and admitting defeat, Nina blasted a bullet from her gun into the hanging grenade and blew up half the side of the room, killing most of the guards. But things didn't go as planned as half the room became engulfed in flames that would soon spread and grow even larger if not put out. Heihachi frantically yelled at the sight of seeing his beloved office being burned to ashes by the brewing fire.

He immediately grabbed Nina and threw her into a wall.

"You fool! Look at what you've done," he shouted in rage.

Steve fell to his knees, breathing rationally. Something was happening from the inside of his arm, but he didn't know what. With exhaling breath, he shouted for Heihachi to step away from Nina and refrain from hurting her. But his plea wasn't heard, and he instead went on to attack Heihachi with a hefty barrage of punches. With every harsh blow, Steve could feel the strength inside him growing rapidly, along with the swelling pain in his arm. This surge of power came in at the right time, and was somehow connected to his mood. Whether he was scared, hurt, or angry this unknown force would take control of his body and offer him incredible abilities to use at his disposal.

Nina watched on as she hosed down the rest of the guards with her gun before making an exit and whistling for Steve to come follow. They dashed out of the room, being trailed by another pack of Heihachi's drones. Running into a different room, Nina quickly closed the door behind them and barricaded it shut with the office furniture. Inside, Nina and Steve saw dozens of computers sitting in front of them, much larger than the ones encountered before. Nina walked over to the mainframe and typed in a series of commands.

"We don't have time for that! We need to get out of here!" Steve impatiently yelled.

"Hold on!" Nina snapped.

Suddenly, a bright flash came across the computer monitor and Nina saw something that nearly made her jaw drop. Her naked body and face were on display of the computer screen, displaying information of Steve Fox, linking him to her cryogenic sleep. It was the very information the two were looking for. Somehow, Nina became pregnant while induced in cryogenic sleep, thus giving birth to Steve Fox in the process. There were still more questions to be answered, but this was enough evidence to prove Nina's claim to her son once and for all. Steve slowly titled his head up and saw the screen as well.

"So, it is true. You weren't lying after all," he said to Nina.

"Told you," the woman smiled.

The door behind them started to barge open. Nina thought it was a good time to use the plastique, a high level explosive. She attached the time bomb against the wall and smashed a window open that led to the outside.

"You're going to have to hold onto me," she said to Steve.

"Ok."

Steve wrapped his arms around Nina's slim waste as she jumped out of the twenty-story window. The wind flapping hard against them, Nina pulled a small device out from her pocket, shooting a steel hook onto the edge of the nearest building closest to them. Dangling, the two swung back and forth in the air, holding each other tightly.

"You alright?" Nina said with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, are you?"

"I will be, when I get to a doctor. My insides still hurt," Nina said with a laugh.

"When is that device you planted set to go off?"

"Right about……now!"

There was a huge explosion heard coming from behind them. The zibatsu was soon crumbling to the ground in a pillar of dust and dirt. At last, the zibatsu was gone and everyone could breath a sigh of relief. Now with that taken care of, Steve rushed a battered Nina to the hospital for medical treatment once they were able to descend towards the ground.

**A week later**

Nina held a suitcase firmly in hand with all her belongings inside. For the first time in history, her apartment was freshly clean, no longer engulfed in filth. At the door, Ling Xiaoyu stepped inside and saw Nina wearing a black coat with the suitcase fixed in her hand. Knowing what this meant, she dashed into Nina's waist and clinched it tightly with all her might.

"No! Please don't go, Nina! I won't let you," she cried.

Not only was Xiaoyu present, but Steve too made a surprising entrance. His hair was slightly combed back behind his delicate ears. A look of sadness was donned upon his face.

"So, this is it? Your going?"

Nina would not make eye contact with him, instead only choosing to look down at an unhappy and crying Xiaoyu.

"This is the way I want it. I live a dangerous life that I don't want you or her apart of. But I'll leave you both with something."

Nina reached into her suitcase and pulled a small picture out, gently placing it in Xiaoyu's soaked palms. The picture was of Nina, herself, actually smiling, with a few parting words scribbled on the back.

"I only have one to give," she said, forgivingly.

"That's ok, I'll make a copy of this so Steve and me can both have one," Xiaoyu said with an expressed smile.

Gazing at the two people that were so special to her, Nina held back the tears of not wanting to leave. She would surely miss and never forget either of them and what they had done. It was Xiaoyu that showed Nina the feeling of compassion, and it was Steve who brought Nina out of her coldness. Two things the assassin didn't fully understand until now.

A moment later, all three shared a hug, embracing each other in sheer warmth and affection.

"Goodbye, Nina. Please don't forget me!" Ling whimpered.

"I won't," Nina reassured, turning to Steve.

"Goodbye, Nina," Steve whispered.

"Nina? Why not call me mom instead?" the assassin giggled.

"Ok. Goodbye….. mother," he said, embracing her one last time.

After the hugs and saddening goodbyes, Nina walked out of the apartment, never to return again. Steve and Xiaoyu watched the blonde Irish woman go as they held on to each other in comfort.

**Two years later**

The crowd roared and screeched their cheers out loud for Steve to get back on his feet. The referee had already reached the number six before he finally sat up from the floor after being punched by his brash opponent. Steve was competing for the heavy championship belt, a prize he had had his eyes on since winning the middleweight championship. With being at the proper weight and fitness level to qualify, he was ready to go through as many opponents in the heavyweight division as possible, till he was given a shot at the belt.

A passionate and encouraging Ling Xiaoyu cheered for her boyfriend behind the barricade as she watched him take another string of punches to the face. Steve's legs were wobbling, feeling loose and weak. He was tired, but still able to go on. His opponent wasn't even close to becoming exhausted. There were no signs of weariness coming from him. As Steve's eyes locked onto his opponent's position, he saw someone watching him from the back row of the crowd.

A surge of energy then went into Steve's arms and he could feel his strength returning. Vigorously, he punched his burly combatant against the ropes several times and ended the combo with a walloping uppercut that sent the champion sputtering to the floor.

"1…….2…..3….4……5…..6……7……8……9…10!"

The bell was rung, the fight was declared over, and Steve became the new heavyweight champion. A wild crowd suddenly burst through the barricade and came into the ring, holding him up high in the air by his legs, as he raised his newly won prize into the sky. But his eyes quickly retracted towards the back row of the crowd. He spotted the exit door being flung open. Immediately, he jumped off the shoulders of the proud fans and dashed towards the outside of the building. At the entrance, he looked around in every direction, hoping to see the woman he perceived was there, watching him in the crowd, but he saw nothing of the sort.

Seconds later, Xiaoyu came outside, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong Steve?"

The boxer looked around in confusion, his eyes wandering to the ground.

"Nothing. Nothings wrong," he said in a quick tone. "Let's go back inside."

The new heavyweight champion proceeded back in the building with his girlfriend, not realizing he was being watched from the building across from the arena. A lone woman stood on the rooftop of the building, her blonde hair flowing backwards behind her from the sharp pushing winds. A smile was present on her face. It was Nina, proud of her son's triumphant victory of winning the heavyweight championship. Even though she could not be in his life, as he wanted, she could at least be there, watching over him when given the chance.

* * *

**Author's notes: Well, there you have it. I would like to thank all the reviewers for their support, even the people who don't give a review (yes, I know you guys exist.) If you are looking forward to my next story with Nina or any of my other stories just add my name to your alert listening to be on the look out. Or you could just watch for my name Thunderxtw. I really appreciate the feedback ,guys. I plan to write the next Nina story** **soon, but as for the moment, I'll be trying to give attention to my other stories until their finished. But you can bet, another Nina story from me will pop up sooner or later. **

**Again, thank you and good day! **


End file.
